The grave of dike reeve De Geus

Willem de Geus

First to be interred in the grave was the body of Baafje Akkerman (1818-1863). She was the first wife of Willem de Geus. He himself was also interred here and finally in 1895 Jacob de Geus Wz. (1872-1895) followed. Jacob was a son born from the second marriage of Willem de Geus to Aaltje Olie. Willem became dike grave of the Schermer in 1874 and held this office until his death. In addition, he was dike grave of the Mijzenpolder between Schermerhorn, Rustenburg and Ursem and chief landowner of the Hoogheemraadschap van de Uitwaterende Sluizen. This whole story is neatly chiseled into the heavy bluestone tombstone:

Farmer dyke

De Geus was a prominent farmer with authority in the polder. With his cattle he won several prizes at exhibitions. In 1874 he was appointed the first parish administrator of Schermer. Until his appointment, this post had always been held by large landowners from Alkmaar. After his appointment, De Geus received so many congratulations that he could not thank everyone personally. He therefore did so in an advertisement on the front page of the Alkmaarsche Courant of November 1, 1874. As dike reeve, De Geus had to deal with years of sometimes fierce debate about the construction of steam pumping stations. All other large polders in the area like the Beemster and the Heerhugowaard switched partially to steam in the 1870s. In Schermer, however, mill drainage generally functioned fine. Moreover, the board was replacing the scoop wheels in the mills with more efficient augers and the construction and operation of a steam pumping station cost a capital. The latter weighed heavily for de Geus. He expressed, "A business is not only good if it requires high costs." The augmentation program continued, and with each modernized mill some wind was taken out of the sails of the proponents of steam power. Thus Schermer stuck to mill drainage and the wind. It was not until 1925 that the polder decided to switch to modern electric pumping stations.

Perpetual right

So Dike Earl De Geus is not the first to know. But how did the Water Board get that grave No. I 0012 in the cemetery near the church of Stompetoren? That is thanks to Jacob Posch, a successor to De Geus. Posch became dike grave of the Schermer in 1945 and was also mayor of Oterleek, which included Stompetoren. The grave of his predecessor De Geus was apparently close to his heart. Less than a week before his resignation as mayor on May 1, 1965, he arranged for Waterschap de Schermeer to take over the grave, or rather the exclusive and perpetual right to have bodies buried there. Immediately the polder bought off the maintenance, again in perpetuity. Together that came to 400 guilders. Waterschap de Schermeer merged into Waterschap Het Lange Rond in 1977. That in turn merged into HHNK in 2003 and since then this water board has owned the grave. The municipality of Alkmaar, to which Stompetoren now belongs, has designated it as a 'special grave'. The Water Board is currently considering restoration of the unfortunately snapped tombstone.

Additional

The Schermer is part of the Land of Leeghwater. Within this framework, there is plenty to see and experience. In addition, 2025 will mark the ^450th anniversary of the birth of famed mill and polder expert Jan Adriaensz. Leeghwater (1575-1650). For more info, see www.inalkmaar.nl/bezoeken/ontdek/land-van-leeghwater and www.inalkmaar.nl/leeghwater-450.

The cemetery at Stompetoren is freely accessible. The church was transferred to the COUP Group in July 2024; for activities and opportunities organized there, see www.kerkstompetoren.nl.